Brand Bengal: Battle of the last and the least

Quiet used to leading from the front, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not fancy taking a backseat. Or waiting for others before her turn comes.  Also, if it had not been for Bangladesh, West Bengal may have been renamed Bangla both in English and Bengali.  As of now, it is juggling with two names in two languages.
At least this is among the several arguments that was furnished in support of the move to change the name of the West Bengal  state of which Mamata was elected Chief Minister the second time. She has gone public with the fact that whenever there is a meeting of all states, alphabets are the undoing of West Bengal.
 Thanks to the prefix West, the state is below several others states in the alphabetic order: in fact at the end of the list: position 29: “Either we don’t get a chance to speak and present our case and demands to the Centre or everyone is too tired to listen by the time West Bengal gets its turn”, Mamata told the media to bolster the argument.  
 There was a growing feeling that W puts the state at a disadvantage at meetings and conferences. One such was the Inter-state meeting held in July this year when Mamata’s turn to speak came after “a six hour wait”. Reportedly by the time Mamata rose, many participating states had left and she found herself talking to a “near empty hall”. Clearly it is a case of those seated last at the table are least heard.
  In this battle of last and least, West Bengal comes a cropper. Once the name change comes into effect and the state name begins with B, the state would be in a number 4 position following Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
 In other words, dropping West would mean Bengal being bumped up near the top: a clear queue jump as it were.
 Speaking technically, this is sound logic for the name change because it gives the state an advantage that had passed it by for several decades in the past.
 Technicality apart, there is a sentiment weaved in to the name change move.  Mamata’s sees the switch to Bangla as one having a historical and cultural connect. Most people, she said, wanted the name Bangla. In English it will be Bengal.
 For Mamata it is also about Bengali pride. “Bombay has become Mumbai, Madras has been renamed Chennai and there are many other instances. The base is Bengal and we want to take everyone along with us. We are proud as Bengalis. Our intention is to make Bengal world famous”. The move to rename the state, Mamata says, is a step towards creating a brand of Bengal.
The West Bengal Assembly has passed a resolution for renaming the state as ‘Bangla’ in Bengali and ‘Bengal’ in English.
Mamata Banerjee has been pushing this since she first came to power some five years ago. However, it failed to take off. This despite the fact that Home Ministry had assured the state government that the name alteration Bill would be tabled in Parliament but somehow no action was taken.   The erstwhile Left Front government had also mooted a proposal to change the state’s name to Paschim Banga.
 Were this to happen, it would have been a half baked move given that it would do little to the alphabet imbroglio: Beginning with P, it would have moved a few steps above W. Simply put, instead of speaking last, Mamata would then be among the last to speak.
 This time around Mamata is taking no chances. She claims to have already sounded the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and told him to pursue the resolution passed by the state Assembly and help make it a reality.
The proposal to change the state’s name would require the Parliament’s nod.
 The proposal of the Assembly will go to the Centre, and Parliament must enact a law to change the name of the state. As per Article 3(a) of the Constitution, “Parliament may by law alter the name of any State provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon…”
 The Trinamool Congress government’s strong efforts to forge a consensus on the name change resolution, came to a naught. The Congress, the Left Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party did not support the resolution. The state BJP opposed the move, one reason being that “West Bengal” conjures up many emotions. They also said it was a tactic to divert people’s attention from issues the state government had failed to resolve.
 The Congress, on its part, wanted a Committee set up while the Left opposed  different names in different languages. They called for one uniform name Bangla. This did not find favour with Mamata on grounds that this would create confusion because the neighbouring country was called Bangladesh and emphasized that Bengal should be name of the State in English.
 Even while the dust has settled there were many other names in the reckoning including Bango, which Mamata willy nilly was inclined to accept.
 Mamata may not have a problem with Bango but pronounced in Bangla it would be Bongo. In this context the concern was that it sounded like the name of the musical instrument. On the other hand, the current name  “Bangla” was also the popular name for country liquor.
The young were however not enthused. Their dilemma: On one hand you have liquor on the other you have an instrument. We don't know which way to go," a teenager rued.  An elated Banerjee said that the people of  Bengal have accepted the name ‘Bangla’. “It has won hands down”.
She said she had decided to go along with the people’s sentiment even while there was political opposition to the move: “History” Mamata thundered “would not forgive them”. The Opposition she said has committed a historic blunder.
 Irrespective, Mamata has won hands down. She has not only steered the state after literally snatching power from the Left, but has also given it a new name and an identity. If History will not forgive her opponents, it certainly will remember Mamata as creating it.

The writer is a senior Indian
journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

Brand Bengal: Battle of the last and the least

Quiet used to leading from the front, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not fancy taking a backseat. Or waiting for others before her turn comes. Also, if it had not been for Bangladesh, West Bengal may have been renamed Bangla both in English and Bengali. As of now, it is juggling with two names in two languages. At least this is among the several arguments that was furnished in support of the move to change the name of the West Bengal state of which Mamata was elected Chief Minister the second time. She has gone public with the fact that whenever there is a meeting of all states, alphabets are the undoing of West Bengal. Thanks to the prefix West, the state is below several others states in the alphabetic order: in fact at the end of the list: position 29: Either we dont get a chance to speak and present our case and demands to the Centre or everyone is too tired to listen by the time West Bengal gets its turn, Mamata told the media to bolster the argument. There was a growing feeling that W puts the state at a disadvantage at meetings and conferences. One such was the Inter-state meeting held in July this year when Mamatas turn to speak came after a six hour wait. Reportedly by the time Mamata rose, many participating states had left and she found herself talking to a near empty hall. Clearly it is a case of those seated last at the table are least heard. In this battle of last and least, West Bengal comes a cropper. Once the name change comes into effect and the state name begins with B, the state would be in a number 4 position following Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In other words, dropping West would mean Bengal being bumped up near the top: a clear queue jump as it were. Speaking technically, this is sound logic for the name change because it gives the state an advantage that had passed it by for several decades in the past. Technicality apart, there is a sentiment weaved in to the name change move. Mamatas sees the switch to Bangla as one having a historical and cultural connect. Most people, she said, wanted the name Bangla. In English it will be Bengal. For Mamata it is also about Bengali pride. Bombay has become Mumbai, Madras has been renamed Chennai and there are many other instances. The base is Bengal and we want to take everyone along with us. We are proud as Bengalis. Our intention is to make Bengal world famous. The move to rename the state, Mamata says, is a step towards creating a brand of Bengal. The West Bengal Assembly has passed a resolution for renaming the state as Bangla in Bengali and Bengal in English. Mamata Banerjee has been pushing this since she first came to power some five years ago. However, it failed to take off. This despite the fact that Home Ministry had assured the state government that the name alteration Bill would be tabled in Parliament but somehow no action was taken. The erstwhile Left Front government had also mooted a proposal to change the states name to Paschim Banga. Were this to happen, it would have been a half baked move given that it would do little to the alphabet imbroglio: Beginning with P, it would have moved a few steps above W. Simply put, instead of speaking last, Mamata would then be among the last to speak. This time around Mamata is taking no chances. She claims to have already sounded the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and told him to pursue the resolution passed by the state Assembly and help make it a reality. The proposal to change the states name would require the Parliaments nod. The proposal of the Assembly will go to the Centre, and Parliament must enact a law to change the name of the state. As per Article 3(a) of the Constitution, Parliament may by law alter the name of any State provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon The Trinamool Congress governments strong efforts to forge a consensus on the name change resolution, came to a naught. The Congress, the Left Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party did not support the resolution. The state BJP opposed the move, one reason being that West Bengal conjures up many emotions. They also said it was a tactic to divert peoples attention from issues the state government had failed to resolve. The Congress, on its part, wanted a Committee set up while the Left opposed different names in different languages. They called for one uniform name Bangla. This did not find favour with Mamata on grounds that this would create confusion because the neighbouring country was called Bangladesh and emphasized that Bengal should be name of the State in English. Even while the dust has settled there were many other names in the reckoning including Bango, which Mamata willy nilly was inclined to accept. Mamata may not have a problem with Bango but pronounced in Bangla it would be Bongo. In this context the concern was that it sounded like the name of the musical instrument. On the other hand, the current name Bangla was also the popular name for country liquor. The young were however not enthused. Their dilemma: On one hand you have liquor on the other you have an instrument. We dont know which way to go, a teenager rued. An elated Banerjee said that the people of Bengal have accepted the name Bangla. It has won hands down. She said she had decided to go along with the peoples sentiment even while there was political opposition to the move: History Mamata thundered would not forgive them. The Opposition she said has committed a historic blunder. Irrespective, Mamata has won hands down. She has not only steered the state after literally snatching power from the Left, but has also given it a new name and an identity. If History will not forgive her opponents, it certainly will remember Mamata as creating it. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])